Jamie Little’s return to IndyCar part of a busy year for Fox Sports announcer
Motorsports viewers might associate Jamie Little with Fox’s coverage of NASCAR’s Cup Series. But Little will be seen across more of Fox’s motorsports coverage this year.
Little will be one of the pit reporters Sunday when Fox carries its first IndyCar race from the streets of downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. She also will be the play-by-play announcer the entire season for the network’s coverage of the Truck series.
The IndyCar assignment is a bit of a homecoming for Little, who was the pit reporter for ESPN and ABC’s coverage of the open-wheel series from 2004 through ’14. Little — whose last IndyCar race was the 2014 Indianapolis 500 — will be filling in for Georgia Henneberry, who recently had a baby and will miss the first couple races.
Little, who will also be part of Fox’s coverage of the Indianapolis 500 on May 25, also is hoping Sunday that some NASCAR fans will tune in as well because the IndyCar race comes before the NASCAR Cup Series road race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
“We’re going to try to cross-promote as much as we can. It’s our first doubleheader. IndyCar is the first race followed by NASCAR,” Little said. “I’m the one person that does both, so they’re asking me to be there to try to blend those two worlds.”
One of the ways Little will try to bridge the gap between IndyCar and NASCAR is a feature on Kyle Larson with segments airing in both shows. Larson will once again this year attempt to do the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 in the same day.
Larson didn’t get the chance to do it last year when rain delayed the start of the Indy race and then shortened the finish of the NASCAR race in Charlotte.
The move to Fox also marks the first time an entire motorsports series will be on broadcast television. Fox aired ads featuring top drivers Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward during the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl 59.
“I think there is nothing better that you can do to help grow this sport and grow the viewership than to have it on a network where if you’re sitting in a bar or you’re having brunch on a Sunday and it’ll be on TV, People will see it and be exposed to it like never before,” Little said. “Everybody is excited about the promotion that’s already been done.”
The other change for Little this season is that she will call the entire NASCAR Truck series schedule. She called select truck races the past three seasons but will have the entire year with Adam Alexander moving to the CW to do the Xfinity Series.
Little became the first woman to do TV play-by-play for a U.S. national racing series broadcast in 2021 when she did the ARCA Menards Series.
Little had briefly considered doing some play-by-play, but the idea gained momentum after Leigh Diffey, who does NASCAR races for NBC, called Little and said with the growing number of women doing play-by-play, Little needed to be that person in NASCAR.
“I just didn’t think it was possible because it’s just you always hear a man’s voice. I didn’t know what that was a role I would enjoy it or if I would be welcomed in that role,” Little said. “I thought about it and he was right. I have done everything I can as a pit reporter and I’ll continue to do that, but I want to test myself. I want to challenge myself, step out of that comfort zone.”
Little has become more comfortable as a play-by-play announcer. She said her original approach was the same as if she was a pit reporter in discussing stories, but that has changed.
“It’s a skill set, and you’re a traffic control cop,” she said. “Yes, there is time to tell those stories, to update these drivers and what’s happening, but that’s why you have the support of your analysts there explaining what’s happening on the track. It’s bringing everybody together and keeping that conversation flowing.”
Sunday’s IndyCar race is in the midst of a busy stretch for Little. Since the beginning of February, she was a reporter for the Westminster Dog show, has called two Trucks races and one ARCA, been the pit reporter for the first two Cup series races and interviewed President Donald Trump before the Daytona 500.
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AP IndyCar: https://apnews.com/hub/indycar
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AP NASCAR: https://apnews.com/hub/nascar-racing
By JOE REEDY
AP Sports Writer
